Stolen Bloodline
by Alchemy Hael
Summary: Everything went wrong, Orochimaru didn't win, but he didn't lose either. They did. So they did the only thing they could. Found someone to take them back to fix things. Harry Potter might not be their first choice be he's the only one that cares to try.
1. Finding the Bloodline

They were just wondering around the place when they heard it. Some kind of loud explosion. Only among the passersby it seemed no one else was reacting to it. Such a loud sound and no response was a major clue that they were about to get the biggest break in their mission. The only break. Finally.

They turned the corner to see a man stepping down off a big purple bus. Only, the bus was in the alley way, parked in such a way that it would be impossible to get out.

The man getting off was really more of a boy, around their age, with a frown on his face, and empty handed, with bright red hair and blue eyes.

"...fuckin deatheaters..."

As soon as he had fully dismounted, the bus shook and with an explosive bang once again, headed straight out to the dead end of the alley. The man didn't seem to care as he just continued walking away, as if a large vehicle was not headed for a wall at what must have been an impossible speed.

Yet as he stepped out into the mouth of the alley, and looked at his wrist, the sound of crunching metal, of screams, or more explosions failed to follow him out.

Sasuke sent a sharp look to Naruto, Kakashi had finally looked up from his book.

The man was still just standing there, starting at his watch before huffing.

He raised his hand and poked at the air right in front of his face, but he never took his eyes off his wrist. With his finger still pointed he dropped his hand, flicked his wrist, drew a circle, striking the air and slashing at it and faster as he went until at last he opened his hand and slapped his palm in the air in front of him, as if there was a wall.

Sasuke felt as if he was sitting in a pool of confusion. Were those hand seals? Was he a ninja? If so they were the strangest seals he had ever seen. Yet, even as he watched, from the man's palm a ripple in the air spread. More followed and with his other hand he outlined a diamond in the air. The ripples hit the edges of the invisible lines until color appeared and they were staring at a window of water, very similar to Haku's ice mirrors.

Eyes widening at the implications before him, Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice.

"Oi! Commander!"

The man was yelling, still looking at his wrist.

A sigh was heard, causing ripples to float in the water window.

"_I told you not to call me that."_

"Do what now?"

"_What do you want Fred?"_

"Fuckin' deatheaters Commander! I think they broke my wrist! What do you think?"

And the man shoved his hand toward the window.

Another sigh and a hand appeared from the window to gently grasp the injured wrist, and twist it mercilessly.

"OWWW!"

"_What have I told you about calling me for no reason?"_

"But Harry!!"

"_What?"_

"Deatheaters followed me from home!" the man was smiling like a five year old telling an interesting story.

The wrist was released and the edges of the window began to frost.

"_Do you think a spy then?"_

Suddenly the red haired man's whole demeanor was changed and even as his eyes held amusement, there was something dark and slightly mad in them. Yet still he smiled.

"Hard to say, but really the evidence leaves little doubt. I left the house and felt the need to be cautious. So I just randomly got off at a stop. Next thing I know, my wrist is broken. And there are two more dead deatheaters to add to the list."

"_Did you manage to ascertain the identity of the traitor before you killed them?"_

"Yeah, and you were right about who you suspected."

"…_How unfortunate."_

"You're telling me. But I really think it's broken. If you don't fix it for me it won't heal proper and my talent might be compromised and…ah…hello? Harry? You still there? Don't tell me you left already-" The man seemed to have slipped back into his five year old mannerisms.

"You talk too much."

It was the same voice that had been echoing though the window, only it came from behind the red haired man.

He grinned and twisted around, holding his wrist in front of him. A young man, with pale skin, and shoulder length pitch black hair gently took it in both hands before using one to tap two fingers to the wrist sharply.

"Ow"

"It's not broken"

"It is! You're breaking it!"

Tap "This won't break it."

"Ow! Stop!"

Tap "Where is your brother?"

The red haired man flinched as he awaited another tap, and sighed in relief as the other man's hand merely wrapped around his wrist.

"George is off collecting fruit!" he declared proudly.

"Isn't he already taken? Some bloke in Scotland, right?"

Fred blinked before understanding seemed to hit him, "Ah…AH! Dirty. No, no…it's for some new concoction of Bill's." he smirked though and nudged Harry. "You have such a dirty mind, Commander."

One green eye looked up from its inspection of the wrist and Fred seemed to realize it probably wasn't best to antagonize someone who'd already proven to have a merciless love of torture.

"Oww!"

A tug, a pop and Harry let go of the arm.

"Don't cry." He muttered.

Whimper, sniff. "That hurt."

"But you're fine now."

"I'll bruise and then what'll I tell George?"

"I'm sure he'll know you deserved it."

"Why didn't you heal it better? That's painless."

"Because you deserved the pain. Now go home."

Harry turned back into the dead end alley.

"Oh, wait wait. I've got news. Some people have been spotted around here lately, asking questions about someone, they don't know who apparently, just someone. And something about Sharingan. Wherever or whoever that is. Mean anything to you?"

Harry turned and Sasuke finally got a look at his face behind all the hair. One bright emerald eye faintly glowing beautifully and the other, a deep red that seemed to see everything, as the tomoe seal slowly rotated out of an abstract pattern around the pupil.

Sasuke's breath caught. Mangekyo Sharingan!

The man, Harry, smirked at the red head, as green slowly swept the red away. Yet before it was completely gone, both eyes flicked across the street, to the bench Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi were breathlessly frozen at.

"Never heard of it."

A/N: Why did I write this? I don't know. What was the point? There was no point. I have some sort of omniscient understanding about the setting and scenery of this piece but nothing solid enough to make a full story, so I'm sorry, you'll have to settle for a one-shot.

I can't write anything but one-shots anyway. I figured I'd just write out the scene and be done with it. Short, and mostly dialoged. Not much in the way of imagery, but then again, that's what your imagination is for. I didn't take too much time with this so, hope it's liked.

Crossovers are fun.

Disclaimer: I hereby exclaim in a loud font, I do not own these characters. They are the property of their respective (and respected) owners. Please forgive me for borrowing them. I did tread softly, though.

Just a note: My understanding of the Mangekyo Sharingan is limited, but I'm pretty sure that it's a degenerative ability, causing blindness in the creator. But if passed down, (or stolen hint hint…title) and combined with your own Mangekyo, it strengthens the ability and rids the second bearer of the weakness of onset blindness. I'm pretty sure that the techniques that can be done also depend on which eye is being used…not that this is relevant information. Just, information.


	2. Tracking the Bloodline

During the war, no one really thought about where Voldemort had been those years between the rebounding killing curse and his graveyard rebirth. No one really had the time. It took almost a year after Voldemort finally met his ultimate end, six years after returning, for information of his time to finally come together.

Sometime during his years as a spirit, Voldemort managed, though lack of a physical body, to pass the world's strongest and most natural wards, into the land of the Hidden Continent. The name is actually a misnomer, as it isn't actually a hidden continent so much as a separate dimension which happens to cross certain paths with Earth.

In any case, no one had passed though the "between" in centuries. Until Voldemort found a wall of wild energy and slipped though to find himself in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, just in time to profit from the eradication of the Uchiha clan. Having mastered the art of possession, Voldemort took it upon himself to seize control of an Uchiha man that hadn't yet been targeted by Uchiha Itachi, and save what few unfortunate Uchiha he could find. After months of torturous experimentation, what remained of the five he had saved wished they _had_ met their end at Itachi's blade.

Voldemort spent months attempting to create a magic equivalent of the Sharingan but in the end, was never able to genetically or magically give himself the kekkei genkai. So he just took them. Ripped them right out of an Uchiha's skull. Even as detailed as Voldemort was in taking notes of his experiments, the names of his victims were never recorded. At testament to Voldemort's priorities. What _was_ recorded was the result of forcing the man to kill his wife before Voldemort took his eyes.

Voldemort was made to return to Konoha, as information on the basic Sharingan was rare, and of the evolved form, nonexistent, outside of the village. Four months of scrounging around in dusty corners, avoiding an orphan Sasuke, dodging suspicious ANBU, and shunning Uchiha ghosts, he finally found his answers.

Mangekyo Sharingan.

For the next year, Voldemort tested his last two remaining Uchiha, attempting to awaken the Mangekyo. As they were children, they were quick to form attachments to whatever human life he threw at them to escape their constant pains. After eighteen months of mutual comforting, Voldemort gauged they'd bonded enough. A quickly cast Imperius, and both children were gifted with the Mangekyo.

For all of five minutes, before the strain incinerated them from their chakra coils out, leaving nothing but ash.

Needless to say he was not pleased. With no other Uchiha left to him, other than the one he had possessed, Voldemort turned to the orphan Sasuke, but found Ninja to be too much for him. Which brought to the fore, Voldemort's most pressing obstacle. Being a creature surviving soley on magic, the Uchiha body he possessed was deteriorating due to the constant struggle between the natural but opposing energies of chakra and magic. During his time searching for answers Voldemort came across another wall of energy. From that point on, Voldemort didn't stray far from Suna. He terrorized any passersby, attempting to control the Mangekyo Sharingan, but some part of it would forever be out of his reach because he was not a ninja and the time for training his chakra had come and gone with his youth. Still, magic did provide a decent substitute.

Finally, after stalling as long as he could, Voldemort made the decision to return to Earth at the risk of losing the eyes. The body was nearly at its limit, so, with the hope that returning to a land of magic would win the body's battle of chakra versus magic, Voldemort crossed over. Only to be disappointed, having forgotten the reason he'd been able to pass though the first time was because of his spirit status. This time, when he passed though into the Between, his stolen body along with his Mangekyo eyes disintegrated in the pressure. And so it seemed, Voldemort's years in the Hidden Continent were all for naught, returning with nothing but the memories of experiments that he could never home to recreate on this side.

So he turned completely to magic, and in Harry's fifth year, returned with a slightly modified ritual. In actuality, the ritual only asked for a few drops of DNA from three separate donors, their willingness played no part in it. But Voldemort was never in the habit of making easy things look easy, so if Wormtail cut off his entire hand he should have been grateful it wasn't the whole arm.

A year out of school, Harry and a few others led a raid against Voldemort's base at the Riddle manor and stumbled upon the original ritual. In a decidedly Slytherin move, Harry took a leaf out of Voldemort's book and with the honestly willing donation of blood from Remus, a not so willing donation from Voldemort, and a hair off of the deceased Headmaster's hairbrush, Harry went about performing the Revitalizing Ritual. What Harry gained, was amazing strength and speed from Remus, wandless magic from Dumbledore, and from Voldemort, the Mangekyo Sharingan.

While Voldemort had failed to create the Sharingan for himself, he _had_ managed to imprint the evolved Sharingan into his magic coils. Even though his physical eyes had collapsed, the blueprint remained with him to be passed onto any offspring. Not that Voldemort would ever have any. But even as he met his defeat in the spinning black abstract in a blood red sea, all Voldemort could manage to feel was some sense of defeated irony.

That _he_ brought about his _own_ destruction.

But Harry was not to find peace with Voldemort's fall, while the war did hit its peak when he was sixteen; it remained there for the next five years until Voldemort's death. At that point, it became a matter of making sure another Voldemort was not created through the discrimination and ignorance that was left at the passing of the war.

So it was that Harry was put into power, though the public would never know it as such. A new Minister was appointed, the Ministry completely remodeled, all under the eye of The Watch. At its helm, was Harry. Whatever greedy politician tried to manipulate their way to greater power through injustice, quickly found their greed rebounded onto them ten times over. The Watch and Guard was created to control the mass populous though manipulation, lies, knowledge, influence, and power over those few privileged humans that nominated themselves to lead. Luckily for the public, the Watch members were few, mainly consisting of Harry, the Commander (don't call him that to his face) Fred, George, Bill Weasley, and Remus running inference between the Watch and the magical creatures of Earth.

"What's to stop them from having any of you assassinated?" Sasuke questioned as Remus sipped at his tea, having finished his rather long retelling of the past few years.

Fred smirked, "They don't know it's us. All they know is that they're suddenly getting fire calls and owls with a little too much personal or secret information, threatening to go public if they don't retract whatever oppressive or self-serving regulation they've tried to bring about."

"Everything's in calculated stages of severity, first a few politely phrased messages left with their receptionist, then some owls with sensitive information, then some fire-call threats, internal investigations gets called, the newspaper gets wind of some career killing reports. Only some, because the best secrets we keep for ourselves. In case they don't get the message." George finished

"You said the Watch, I get that it involves all of you. What about the Guard. It sounded like a separate faction." Kakashi questioned.

Remus winked at the twins, "That's really just something we came up with ourselves, like "the Watch". After all, the Ministry doesn't know we're organized. Frankly, because we attack the Ministry though individuals and their 'best kept secrets', it's not something they bring up at meeting. So even though we've 'attacked' nearly everyone in the ministry at varying stages nearly every one of them thinks they are the only victim to have been targeted. I doubt even the notion of a combined force working against the entire Ministry has even crossed their minds. The Guard is all of us except Harry." Remus continued. "Harry purposefully made himself the obvious target of suspicion when someone is trying to zero in on the Watch. If you have a suspect, you monitor them closely for signs that will give them away. So you'll never see the one's behind your back actually committing the 'crime'. Of course, because of that and the fact that Harry is a very influential public figure they _do_ try to attack _him_. That's where _we_ come in. The Guard is our attempt to relieve as much of the burden from Harry as we can. Before they can even attack the surface of Harry's standing we take them down. For those brave but foolish few that make any attempt at Harry, the Guard has no mercy. The Guard exists for the sole purpose of protecting our Commander Harry."

Naruto grinned crazily, "Like a Hokage! You're the ANBU and he's the Hokage! I like it. Mmhm, yeah!"

"It certainly takes 'Hidden Village' to a new level." Kakashi murmured, his one eye curving up.

Naruto tilted forward in his seat over the table and whispered in his best conspirator voice, "What should we call this village?" not managing to contain his excitement at "discovering" a new hidden village.

Sasuke snorted and muttered something about naming villages without the villagers' approval…dobe.

Kakashi ignored him to put one finger thoughtfully to his forehead. "Hmm…Mahougakure no Sato?"

Naruto nodded, then wrinkled his nose, "It sounds crappy in English." He sniffed, contemplating the translation.

"Village hidden in the magic?" Remus smiled amusedly. "How about Village hidden _among_ the magic? It doesn't sound so fairy-like."

"It still doesn't sound right. Mah- that's okay, we just won't say it in English."

Bill laughed, "Is that supposed to be compromise?"

Naruto didn't get to answer, as Harry walked into the conference room. "Okay, the way to the Department of Mysteries will be suspiciously but conveniently clear for an hour, two days from now. We'll go then."

Kakashi stood, and Sasuke and Naruto followed, "Thank you very much for your help." He said with a bow. Naruto followed suit but Sasuke needed to be prodded (with a kunai). The jounin turned to go but a slightly sinister but mostly amused laugh stopped him. He moved to see the Guard out of their seats and assembled behind their Commander as he settled in at the head of the table.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said smiling down at the table, his bangs shadowing his eyes.

Sasuke shifted his stance with both hands poised over his shuriken pouches. Unknown to his companions, he would have drawn if not for the fact that invisible hands were locked around his body, keeping him from moving. It also might have been the feel of several sharp objects pricking into his throat. Not that he could see them, but he understood the threat. His gaze shot forward, seeking out the one holding him down. One of the twins, Fred, he thought, was staring at him with a smile just slightly below the level of maniacal, but George was not to be seen. Knowing what they did for a living, and their philosophy of deception, Sasuke was already looking underneath the underneath. George was probably a pretext; Sasuke's eyes had seen Harry's hand flick his way before the hands forced him to break off his attack. It was probably his doing.

As Sasuke considered his precarious situation, Kakashi was carefully measuring the tension in the room. "I wasn't aware that we weren't allowed to leave."

Harry still wasn't looking at them and the smile was still on his lips. "Of course you were. You're smart, and you are _shinobi_ of a _hidden_ village. You of all people know just how important secrets can be, and we have revealed a great deal of ours to you."

"I'm sure they are not your most important." The jounin hedged.

"Of course not. You wouldn't be alive if you knew those. Nevertheless, it is just enough to invite you to keep us company until you leave for good." He indicated the seats the table.

As he was speaking to Kakashi, another voice, impossibly Harry's, was whispering in Sasuke's ear. "You will be released as soon as your killing intent withdraws."

Sasuke complied and a hand was placed on his shoulder. In an instant, the restricting ghost hands and blades disappeared. Turning only his eyes as he walked back to his seat, he almost froze, to see Fred smirking behind him, his hand falling from Sasuke's shoulder as he walked away. Looking back to the head of the table, he was stunned to see no one but the Commander. He took his seat, composed features hiding his frantic eyes zeroing in onto shadows in search of the rest of the Watch. Not even Fred was anywere to be seen, when he turned to look back. Was Fred really the one that originally confined him? Had it been him the whole time, with his brother and Commander just playing along? But so quickly! How had they known what to do? Some inner Sasuke managed a laugh of derisiveness at the idea of them practicing beforehand.

"Now," Harry said pleased, "Why don't we get to know each other. My name is Harry and you're lives are in my hands. Your turn." He smiled and looked up at them, the Mangekyo Sharingan swirling back at them from his right eye.

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A/N: As you may have noticed, this does not comply with Book 7. Why? Because I never finished it, and I doubt I ever will. This is basically based off of Book 6 and what I know (and accept) of Book 7.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Naruto do not belong to me. If they did, I wouldn't have to look for a second job.

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-Warning! Needlessly long Author's Note!-

To be honest, I had no intention of ever adding another chapter to this fic, and always intended it to be a one shot. Guess it goes to show the power of persuasion, silent though it was. I was pleasantly surprised to see my inbox with a good deal more "Alert" attention than I ever thought I would get. So thanks go out to those of you who put my fic up on your C2 Community. If brought my fic out of obscurity. Thanks also go to those who put up "Alerts" on the hopeful chance that I _might_ update. I guess it felt like you were putting your faith in me. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Not to knock those of you who review but I've had a few unfortunate experiences with reviewers. Sometimes they can make it sound so much like a demand that it kills any hint of gratefulness you might feel. I had one that actually said I should give this fic for adoption if I didn't want to continue it. And while I understand it as something of a backhanded compliment (I think…) my first response was still "How _dare_ they presume to tell me!" and off into dire diatribe.

Frankly, I'm more of an "Alerter not Reviewer" myself. So I appreciate it, when I get fics on alert status. I'm not writing this to discourage people from reviewing, or critiquing, just, if that's what you want do, make sure that's what you _do_. Because, while I _did_ put this on the internet for others to enjoy, that's wasn't the reason I wrote it. I wrote it, because I wanted to read it.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. bows deeply


	3. Healing the Bloodline

The Konoha shinobi didn't really get much of an opportunity to see much of the Ministry of Magic but even if they had, there was no way for them to know just how much it had changed since Harry had first seen it. The "Fountain of wizard superiority" was gone and in its place was a decorative water array magiced by House elves. It being the first thing the Watch ensured was removed from the ministry, the second being _Scrimgeour_. Everything ran much more smoothly now; security was tighter, so as to keep panicked fifteen year olds out of sensitive and dangerous places in search of godfathers. The Konoha nin would not know this though, they barely had time to follow the racing Commander before them.

"Four seconds to get through each door. One second for each of us." he'd said with a grin. "Better keep up. Only one chance and if I see you fall behind and get trapped I won't be going back for you."

They'd kept up of course, they were shinobi. If they couldn't keep up they deserved to be left behind. After all, if they couldn't do that much, what hope had they of changing things back home.

--

--

--

"Your turn..."

Kakashi stared into Mangekyo red trying to come up with something that would explain their situation. Most wouldn't approve with what the three of them were attempting to do.

"We're here to change the future!"

Kakashi's eyes closed, Naruto, of course would never understand the downside of changing the future.

Even after both he and Sasuke had explained it… Countless times.

Harry sat forward and smiled, this grin was closer to interested amusement than any of the Commander's other smiles. "The future? I wasn't aware that was within your capabilities. I shall have to reassess your threat level." Still smiling.

"Yeah, you'd better! It's never a good idea to underestimate a ninja, ESPECIALLY Konoha shinobi! We're the best."

From the corner of his eye Kakashi could see, Sasuke slap a hand to his face in exasperation.

"Dobe, you didn't have to say that." he muttered.

Kakashi sighed, "It is not within the ability of any _single_ shinobi to change what has already happened, but there is a way, a technique that we could use together. It has something to do with your village- or this world. The different energy, magic, is capable of sending someone to the past. That is why there exists a gateway between our worlds."

Harry sat back, "So at some point, someone in your world wanted to create a way to change the future and so created a gateway from there, to here, and used OUR energy to send him back in time. How very tedious. And? How often is this done, this sending people here to go back there, in the past?"

"There has only been one record of it ever happening...successfully." Sasuke hedged.

"But that's 'cause it's only been tried once!" Naruto butted in, "I'm sure that if we _could_, there'd be loads more."

Sasuke made to stab Naruto, but was held back.

"Ah, yes. It's a very complicated jutsu, one that requires a lot of...materials. So it's not really good to use unless there is no other choice."

Green eyes, when had they changed back, stared back at the three shinobi. "Let me guess. Something like, hundreds or maybe thousands of human souls, perhaps. Would that be the materials you needed?"

Naruto's face was drawn tight with grief, Sasuke looked away and Kakashi shook his head. "More like millions. You've heard of this jutsu?"

Harry ignored him in favor of drawing symbols onto the tabletop, finishing it off with a circle and laying his palm flat in the center of the invisible circle. Red light flowed out from his hand and whatever design he'd drawn was now visibly etched with light. When it died, a folder was left in its place. He opened it and inspected the contents before nodding.

"Yes, I guess it would take more souls to change the past. Looks like I owe Ed some gallons. His hypothesis was correct." he said to himself before looking up, "so you sacrificed a few souls and here you are-"

"We didn't!" Naruto cut in, "That was Orochimaru! I mean, he didn't mean to do it. And we knew he was gonna kill all of...and we couldn't stop him. But there wasn't enough, so I had to...mmm." He stared at Harry with wide eyes, as if trying to get him to understand his broken rambling. The Commander's right eye was spinning and for a moment he was frozen. Then he blinked and nodded.

"Okay, so Orochimaru destroyed your village, or probably the entire continent, for that number of souls. I assume he didn't know that whatever he was planning would result in the death of millions?"

Sasuke nodded, still looking away. "He was trying to complete an immortality jutsu he had created. He thought all it would take was Konoha, but the jutsu just kept pulling in more and more souls. Still, it was slow and Kakashi had already found the time reversal jutsu. We kept trying to stop it but after all of Leaf and Sand was dead and more dying we knew there was nothing we could do. So we diverted the souls to charge the time jutsu."

"But it wasn't enough. He…" Harry pointed to Naruto, "did something."

"The Kyuubi, nine tailed demon fox, he sacrificed it to finish the jutsu. We thought all it would take were a few tails, but then it took all of the fox. It almost took Naruto, too." Kakashi explained, when it looked like Naruto wouldn't.

Harry laughed softly, "I guess it just goes to show where The Powers drew the line. You can change the past, but not gain immortality, it's doomed to failure. So, here you are, I assume you are basically what amounts to the last survivors of your world."

"The last that would or _could_ help us change things for the _better_. The last we knew, Orochimaru was still alive, already seeking out a new method, as that one had _obviously_ failed. He didn't care that he was responsible for the death of millions."

"From what you've said of him, he was probably rather pleased by it."

Kakashi looked to Sasuke, "Probably." he agreed.

"Well," Harry stood. "Now that I know you a little better, let's go."

Naruto jumped up, "Now? I thought the Mysteries place was only gonna be clear in two days."

Harry was laughing as he grabbed his cloak and they followed him out. "As if i could manage that. The Watch has done a lot for the security at the Ministry. So no one gets in without the proper papers and while I _could_ get it all worked out, that would take weeks, and I hate waiting."

"Is it just you? What about your Guard?"

The Commander gave a secret smile "Don't worry about them. They'll wait for me. _You_ however, need to catch up. No time to lose, we've only got four seconds."

--

And then they were in front of the veil, listening to whispers they couldn't understand.

"What's it saying?" Naruto asked Harry.

Harry was running his hand down the air around the veil. "It says a lot of things. What you are hearing are the voices of those who have passed through this gate and then returned home. When you return to your home, your voices will be added. No one but those who have passed through the gate can hear the whispers." he was concentrating on making motions in the air, drawing symbols and making signs.

"So you've passed through here, you can hear them, right?" Kakashi asked.

Harry stopped to look over his shoulder at him. "Ah, yes, I was not created in this world. I spent only my last month in the womb here before I was born. I do not know where I am from, but my mother came from some other place and came here and merged with Lily Potter, who was not pregnant at the time."

There seemed to be a lot more to that explanation but time was running short and Kakashi didn't think Harry would tell him anyway.

"Okay. It's set. All you have to do it fix the location. Right now it's set to some place called Resembool. I wouldn't suggest falling there, you've got your own troubles at home without adding theirs."

"So how do we set it?" Sasuke asked, inwardly he was frustrated. Sasuke was insanely curious, though he did his best to hide it, but every time the Commander said something it left Sasuke with so many questions! He wanted to know! Where was Resembool? Why did the Commander know it was set there? Why was the Commander so mysterious about _everything_! But Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that Harry was hinting at everything _because_ he knew it would drive him crazy.

Harry was smiling at him. "As there's three of you, you'll have to decide where you want to go. As to how far _back_ you go, that depends on the number of souls, so you really have no control over that."

"Well obviously, we want to go back to Konoha!" Naruto threw a fist in the air.

"Dobe, did you forget who I am?" Sasuke snapped back.

"Can we go back though? What about the younger us. And if we henge, we'll be strangers without papers in Konoha. We'd be lucky if they just escort us out." Kakashi muttered.

Harry rolled his eyes, _now_ they thought about it?! Granted, he didn't give them much time to consider what to do about it before getting here. Well, they had a few minutes. They hadn't had to rush though the doors like that, not really. He just wanted to make them panic a little. Still, he wished the other two were as simple as Naruto, they'd already be gone if it were up to the blonde.

"I'm a wanted shinobi dobe! I can't go back there!" Sasuke was yelling at the Naruto.

"And I think it would be really bad to run into me, I think I'd kill myself accidentally, and that would be bad." Kakashi was off in his own world.

"But it's Konoha! It'll be fine! We just explain it to Tsunade-obaasan and she'll fix it!"

"All the shinobi of Konoha would be on me and I'd be dead before you could even finish one bowl of ramen!"

"Kuso! If I go to the past it'll be forever before Icha Icha Paradise is updated! That's _really_ bad!"

Hmm, well, they seemed to be concentrating on the same place… sort of, and it looked like the gate had accepted whatever they were visualizing as Konoha. Harry considered it a kindness that he never let them continue wondering about what might be's. They barely had any time to turn as he shoved them all through the veil. Let them figure everything out when they got there.

And then they were gone.

Harry stood alone, facing the veil as he listened, waiting to hear their voices. He wanted to be certain that they'd made it through. Once in a while Ed's voice would filter out, mostly screams of rage, something like, ...so small you can't even see them with a magnifying glass. But it was faint; he could have been saying something completely different. Harry smiled; it wasn't likely though, knowing him.

Finally he heard something, a baby crying, and a voice, Kakashi's.

"Please, there has to be another way! You don't have to die! Just give us a little more time! Yondaime!"

Harry smiled, looks like they made it back alright.

--

--

Harry was waving a hand around, watching his magic work its way around his room. Even after years living in the wizarding world he had accumulated very little. All of his belongings could fit in a small trunk. He could never hope to make his house feel like a home with just his small personal effects. He was trying to rearrange everything, out of boredom, so when the door opened he happily concentrated all of his attention to whoever had walked in.

After forcing them to dodge his cutting hex.

"Hello, Harry." Remus said exasperatedly.

"Hi, Moony. Everyone all set to go?" he turned back to his trunk, moving the photo album to the side.

"Yes, we're ready."

"Great. Let's get going."

Remus followed Harry out of the empty room and out the front door. If he'd turned back, he knew he would have seen just a doorframe that was slowly dissipating into the air, but he didn't turn back. Ahead, Harry was meeting up with the others. They were all empty handed, of course. They had no need to carry luggage. With one last look around, Remus hurried to catch up.

He smiled at Bill and they all held onto each other for the trip to the Ministry. Then they were standing in front of the veil, Remus couldn't hear anything it said, of course, he never would. He would never come back home. None of them would.

"So, I thought to myself" Harry was saying, "The Ministry hasn't needed us to step in for a long time, and the last time we did it wasn't as the Watch. I guess it's as good as it's gonna get. If there was ever a convenient time to go, now's as good as any."

The others nodded in agreement.

Remus turned away from the Gate to join them. "Got everything packed Harry?"

"Got everything I could miss and take with me."

"Then I guess this is goodbye." Remus smiled.

Harry smiled back at him, "Yeah, goodbye guys, don't worry about me, we'll see each other again soon."

The Guard smiled and nodded back, "We've been waiting all this time already, don't rush too quick to meet up again."

Harry turned to face the veil, "I'll try not to."

And with one deep breath and a step, was gone.

Remus stayed a moment, wondering if Harry's voice would join all the others that he couldn't hear. If maybe there was a one in a million chance that the world he was going to was his first home. Behind him, Fred was holding George's hand, swinging them back and forth. Bill was watching them in amusement before looking at Remus.

"Ready?" he asked.

Remus paused still listening, before nodding. "Yeah."

He turned his back to the veil to rejoin the rest of the Guard. They stood in a circle, staring in, just breathing for a moment.

"So, finally, huh?"

"Yeah, it's been three years." George said

"Two for me." Fred smiled.

"Two and a half for me." Bill returned.

"One for me." Remus whispered back.

"So Remus beats us all. If I were alive I bet I could take you." Fred groused out playfully.

George snickered, "If we were alive, Remus wouldn't have beat us."

Bill hit the twins upside their heads. "When did surviving become a competition?"

Remus chuckled, "Everything's a competition with the twins."

The four laughed before silence took them. "I'm pretty glad those guys came. I was worried that Fred's magic would run out before Harry found himself a place to call home." George sighed.

"I worried when I first created me that it would _never_ happen." Bill grabbed Remus' hand when he saw the tears escaping.

The werewolf smiled, "I'm so glad Fred found that scroll. It was such a relief knowing that even after I died I could still be there for Harry."

Fred grinned in accomplishment. "I'm sure Harry appreciated it. Harry appreciates everything."

They nodded in agreement.

"So, let's all go together, and wait for him. Hopefully he'll be old and gray and we can make fun of him and pull his beard and race around him while he hobbles around." Fred exclaimed.

"On the count of three, you think?" Bill asked.

"One"

Remus looked back once over his shoulder, to the veil.

"Two"

They all held hands and took a deep breath.

"Three"

And silently, the mahou bunshin dissolved into the magic.

--

--

Author's Note is on my bio, I didn't want it here.

Disclaimers:

Harry Potter is not mine.

Naruto is not mine.

Full Metal Alchemist is not mine. (Yes! It _is_ there!)


	4. Using the Bloodline

If anyone ever asked Harry, years later, about what he remembered about traveling through the veil, he would have told them very little. Just, that he was one place and then in the next step, he was in a world set aflame; but whatever he passed through to get there, it must have been cold.

The ice that had formed on his hair and at his fingers said as much. But the ice was quickly becoming puddles at his feet. Looking around him, he felt a familiar despair fill him as he took in the fire surrounding him. For as far as he could see, everything was burning and memories of the Forbidden Forest flickered as he watched the trees burn to the ground. One such tree broke him from his trance as it came near to crushing him beneath it and Harry quickly apparated a few feet away.

"Probably a good time to get out" he said smiling to himself.

He made good time, apparating to the farthest point he could see every few seconds, until the burning forest was behind him and he walked into a familiar carnage. Buildings were broken apart, bodies littered the streets, and blood ran rivers through the village. The area he had apparated into was still, and the blood appeared old.

"Must have moved on…whatever it was." He casually glanced around searching for survivors but seeing none the green of his right eye bled away to red and the wheel spun slowly.

"The living, seek out the living…connect."

The spinning black expanded and whirled faster as he stood in one place, head down, seeming to contemplate the ground he stood on, but in his sharingan's eye he could see lines branched out from him, of all colors and sizes, glowing faintly, and some pulsing.

"Humans…connect."

All but the thin black lines died away. Harry moved to head in the direction most of the threads pulled him in but out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of one stray line, fading in and out.

Harry cocked his head to the side. To follow or not to follow…whoever it was, they were already near death.

"Too curious." He finally decided, and he followed the fading trail to a collapsed building. Walking around it the, now grey, line shot into a heap of rubble.

Harry contemplated it for a moment before indifferently raising a hand and the debris slowly began to lift into the air to crash a few feet away when Harry inattentively flicked his wrist aside. He narrowed his eyes in irritation at his negligence but was distracted when he noticed the pace of deterioration of the line increasing sharply.

Harry jumped into the pit left behind by the heavy walls to see a man at the bottom, right arm torn away at his side and the bones of his legs splintered and spiking out from his skin, his blood splashed everywhere but most of it pooling beneath him.

Insanely, Harry wondered if the pit was narrow enough and if the man had enough blood, would he die by drowning? He was interrupted from answering himself when the man's eyes opened.

"Uchiha-sama?"

Harry smiled in interest. That little black haired boy was called Uchiha. He cast around, seeking out Sasuke or the other two shinobi, but found no one and frowned.

"Where-?" he began to ask before the man interrupted him.

"Uchiha-sama, were we successful? Is it dead?"

Head cocked to the side in question, Harry pointed to himself. "Me?"

The man struggled to raise himself up, and grabbed at Harry's shirt, "Is the Kyuubi dead?" he asked desperately.

Harry recalled something about a demon fox that the three shinobi had mentioned. They said it had died when they completely the time reversal jutsu. Then Harry remembered he was supposed to be in the past. They had said it was sealed in Naruto, if Harry remembered correctly. They had said Naruto was hated for it.

As Harry was thinking, the other man was fading. Out of habit, even as Harry tried to remember more about the Kyuubi, his left eye swirled into spinning red and black.

"Hold still a moment." He muttered to no one. "Connect."

Now with both eyes spinning he could see more than just life threads, he could see every connection. In the man's arm the ties were pulled, stretched, or broken completely, threads snapped in the middle, drifting in the air.

Harry wasn't very good at connecting small threads. In his mind, he used his hands to direct the strings, so the bigger the thread, the easier it was to handle. But slowly, he reconnected snapped strands, the lines that were stretched, Harry pulled out completely to replace with new ones he created himself.

He didn't know what it looked like to others watching but he knew it must be strange. To others, he was just standing still as whatever he was working on was put back together, or destroyed. The Watch had tried to explain it once. They had said it was like looking at something, blinking, and suddenly it was something else. Like missing a blink and you weren't even aware you'd blinked except that you didn't _see_ the change. With no magic flash, no wand waving, nothing, it was just suddenly…different.

Harry did all the littlest threads on the man's arm before moving on to his leg. Finally, he sighed as his eyes switched back to green. The man was looking at him in slight awe.

He smiled at him and patted his now reattached arm. The man flinched in anticipated pain before rubbing his own hand over the spot where his arm had been cut off.

"It doesn't hurt!" he exclaimed amazed.

Harry stood up and dusted himself off just giving the man a strange look.

"Of course, what did you think was the point of healing it?"

"Forgive me Uchiha-sama. I had not thought the medic-nin had developed such an efficient and powerful jutsu. Or was it the Uchiha that created it?"

"I created it." Harry said, not caring that he'd reaffirmed the man's belief that he was a member of the Uchiha clan.

The man just nodded as if it was to be expected.

"What is your name?"

The man smiled and nodded again as if, it was also to be expected, that Harry didn't know his name.

"Same." He answered.

They didn't talk much after that, mostly due to the man having lost a great deal of blood, and he'd been laying crushed for who knew how long. Before he passed out, he managed to tell Harry where the hospital was, though he had mumbled something about wondering if it was still standing.

--

Harry understood when he saw the tents propped up in front of what had once been the Konoha general hospital. There was a line of injured leading into the camp, some managing to stand on their own, and others, like the man Harry was helping, were being carried. Men and women dressed in white were going down the line, determining who they could help and who were beyond saving.

Finally, one approached him. Harry would have recognized her as a war medic even without the obvious signs. Her manner of indifference and her habit of never looking anyone directly in the eye unless it was to assess damage. Of course, he knew her, and most medics, to be caring, but in order to protect themselves and do what was best, they fronted apathy. Even still, it was never easy to choose between the friend you can't save, and the stranger you can. Their sacrifice to logic made them more emotionally strong and stable than even the hardiest of warriors. They were often the most logical in times of crisis.

Harry smiled at the small medic that looked to be his age or just slightly younger, despite that she wouldn't see it.

"He just needs a blood transfusion. Otherwise he's fine."

The medic frowned in confusion and finally looked up to see Harry's face.

"But there is so much blood, surely he is injured somewhere."

He bent his head at an angle, as if to take in the man's condition. Noticing through the rips in the man's clothes, minor cuts and bruising, he nodded back at the woman.

"Right. He has some cuts here." He poked at one and the man jerked as blood began to seep out. "And some bruises." Harry finished as he wiped off his bloody hand. "But other than _that_, he's fine."

The medic gave him the same look Remus used to right before telling him he had a habit of understating things. The woman apparently agreed but stayed silent as she took over to carry the stranger to a bed. Harry didn't stick around, knowing he would just get in the way if he didn't find something productive to do.

So he moved over to the largest tent in the camp. Entering it, the scent of death was strong and the sound of weeping could be heard, seeming to echo within the white canvas.

Harry sat down in a corner and closed his eyes. This was a familiar setting.

"How nostalgic."

--

Sarutobi stepped through the medic camp, heading for the tent the used as an office. He knew what an exhausting day it had been for them, in all ways, but when he stepped through the scene that greeted him was more lighthearted than he had witnessed since before the war. And even with the Kyuubi gone, he knew the medics would not celebrate with the other survivors as they would still be dealing with the aftermath.

"Hokage-sama!"

And suddenly he had their full attention. There were smiles on some of their faces but even as he walked closer he could feel their chakra depletion.

"You're so happy tonight, celebrating?"

"Something like that Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi turned, confused, to see one of the medics standing next to him with a gently smile.

--

The Sandaime stepped into the quiet tent, the usual heavy atmosphere replaced with a gentle hum. Despite that, depression began to settle in him as he looked on. It was their largest tent yet still, he could barely see the floor for all the bodies.

"So many?" he asked gravely.

Abe, the medic team's second in command, chuckled, "These are not the fatally injured, _they_ have already been treated or passed on in peace. These here now are merchants from outside that were caught in the attack."

"So we have no terminal cases? How is that possible?"

Abe shrugged, still smiling. "We don't know how it's happening or where it's coming from, only that once you step outside this tent it will stop healing you. It started hours ago and hasn't stopped yet. Whatever it is, it's contained within the canvas."

The Hokage stood in awe as minor to severe injuries were healed before his eyes even had time to see the change.

"It's as if time is reversing." He murmured, itching to seek out scrolls which might help him uncover the truth of this phenomenon.

"It certainly seems to. We had Ibiki come in just to see how far back it could go." Abe said grinning slyly.

"And?"

"He ran out within a minute of realizing what was happening. Still, it was enough time to diminish a great deal of the scaring on his head. It was incredible. It seems the older the wound the slower the reversal." Then Abe frowned, "Right now though, we're not sure if whatever it is that is doing this will stick around long enough for us to bring in the injured civilians from the mountain."

Sarutobi walked further in, unaware of Abe's intense stare, "What do you mean?"

The medic-nin sighed, "Whatever is doing this is sentient enough to know when to stop healing. When it first started, it was healing what we couldn't, enough that we were able to save their lives. Then we noticed that when the tent ran out of critically injured it started healing minor injures. It's reattached several limbs already and has completely re-grown completely new limbs from the air."

"You consider such injuries 'minor'?"

Abe nodded, "From a medic nin's point of view, in a time of crisis it is better to amputate if it looks like we can't save a limb than to waste time and chakra trying to attach it. Especially if you have a line of others waiting to be saved."

"Okay, so you're worried that the energy is moving on, or running out?"

"No, it seems to come in waves. The first wave heals fatal injuries, the second heals major but survivable wounds, and so on. But the interval between them grew longer and longer. Then, the merchant clan came begging for aide, so we brought them here and it started from the first stage again. Even still, it seems some injuries are beyond its healing. To those, they are granted a painless end. Most have enough sense to be grateful for it as their minds are free from the haze of painkillers and fall into sleep.

"So you're saying we might run out of injured before we can get our civilians here." The Sandaime confirmed.

"Yes. There has also been speculation that we are abusing whatever has graced us with this gift and that we should only use it for those near death and not at all on the outsiders."

"And what do you think?"

Abe closed his eyes and breathed in, "The air here is fresh, the emotion, peaceful and playful at times. I think if we had refused the outsiders, whatever or whoever is doing this would have been very displeased."

The Hokage nodded and made his way out, "I will have our fastest shinobi set out to retrieve the more critically injured and bring them here."

Abe nodded and they exited the tent, but at the entrance the medic-nin turned and bowed with whispered thanks, before following a much younger looking Sandaime. He would have to let the Medic Captain know, apparently, the entity could reverse old age as well.

--

The light blinding him even through his eyelids woke him up, and he opened them to see clouds and sky, where he was expecting a rocky grave. Then he remembered the Uchiha that had saved him. _What miracle was this?_

Same couldn't quiet remember everything that had happened since the Uchiha had dug him up. _Had_ _he given his name?_ If he had, Same couldn't remember it.

He tried to remember if he had ever seen the man before but there were so many Uchiha and some part of him never bothered to remember their unimportant elements such as names when dealing with Uchiha. _When you've met one you've pretty much met them all._ It was never something he said aloud and he was always slightly ashamed of himself for thinking it, but that shame never failed to disappear whenever he had to deal with any part of the clan.

Still, this particular Uchiha hadn't actually done anything…Uchiha-like. And now that he thought about it, his eyes had been strange, the spinning Sharingan wasn't quite right. Of course, he could have just been delusional, but he just couldn't get the image of a smiling Uchiha out of his head. _Highly suspicious_.

Kicking himself out of his thoughts, Same looked around to see he was on a cot with many others surrounding his. _Probably, there were not enough tents for the injured_, he thought sadly.

Instinctively, He threw his legs over the side of the cot and stood, before remembering that he shouldn't have been able to, at least, not without a little adjusting. But when he looked down, both legs were fully attached and pain free, and at his side, he stretched and flexed his arm.

"What an amazing jutsu."

So with a smile, he started walking to stretch out his muscles. Same quickly noticed that most of the cots were taken up by many who held no injuries that he could detect. Glancing to his left, he looked for a congregation where he might scrape together some information. Hokage-sama called it eavesdropping, Same called it his awesome shinobi skills…but not where anyone could hear him.

"It was amazing, I'll never forget it. I was missing three fingers and thought I'd never draw a kunai again. Then they tell me, 'go to the fatality ward.' And I'm thinking. 'am I dying!' so as soon as I get in there I just feel better than I have in years. Then I look at my hand and all my fingers are back! Then the medic sticks his head in and says, 'all done? Good.' And tells me to leave. Just like that."

Same smiled as he sat down unnoticed, by a group of older chuunin exchanging stories over a fire.

"According to what I've been hearing, the Entity has the ability to reverse your age. They were probably concerned with keeping you in there too long."

"What! I wouldn't mind losing a few years! They could have asked."

"I suspect that they are trying not to anger the Entity." A jounin muttered, tossing a stick of wood into the low fire. "I heard one of the medics talking about something happening a few hours ago, something with Danzo-sama. Looks like when he found out about the Hokage, he wanted to try it for himself only it didn't do anything for him; not even a wrinkle. Seems he started causing a ruckus about getting it investigated and had ANBU running every corner of the ward searching for the Entity. It stopped healing, and everyone was worried for a while, even after he left it didn't come back. Then, not half an hour ago, it started up again, in another tent. The medic nin were bowing a lot and apologizing. I guess since then, they think it's best to leave unnecessary healing to them."

Same stood up; pondering the Entity, as the conversation quickly degenerated into crass remarks about Danzo and his ilk trying to ruin everything for everyone. _Snotty bastards_. Still thinking over what they had said, Same sought out a new fire and more…information.

After two hours of information gathering, he knew that many thought ill of the Entity. Their paranoia told them it was a trap from enemy villages trying to lull them into complacency in their time of crisis. Many of them refused to be treated. Listening to them, Same couldn't help but understand their reasoning, shinobi were naturally suspicious of anything and firm skeptics of anything that seems too good to be true. At least for Same, his healer had a face…or eyes anyway, as he couldn't quiet remember what his face had looked like. As he pondered his savior he was brought back to the incongruity of a kind and helpful Uchiha. He remembered being surprised even then, as he'd never met an Uchiha over the age of five that was _that_ nice or considerate to those they considered of a lesser station. And if their clan's attitude could be interpreted correctly, then they thought _everyone_ was of a lesser station.

Raised voices and excited chatter distracted him from his musings as voices cried out, not in pain or fear, but joy.

"They're back!"

"We're home!"

"Okaasan! Otousan!"

Many voices cried out, seeking out civilian family members and friends, looking to find who was safe…and who was lost. And above the din, medic nin corralled the injured.

"This way, this way. If you are injured in any way, or if someone close to you is injured please remain standing. If you are whole please find a cot or sit–"

whatever else the medic said, Same was deaf to it as he strained his hearing, finally catching one voice.

"Otousan! Otousan!" and suddenly his arms where full, wrapped securely around his son. And finally, whatever tension left in him was gone. Thoughts of mysterious entities and strange Uchiha disappeared in the face of his relief.

"Otousan you're okay!"

Same's shoulder was wet with his son's tears and he tried to lay flat his unruly hair.

"Shh, all is well, you're safe and I am safe and today we're going home."

A hiccup into his shoulder and with a sighed "I missed you." His son fell asleep.

Smiling into the dying sunset he hugged his slumbering child, "And I missed you, Iruka."

--

--

--

A/N …Were you surprised?

--

--

I hereby disclaim in a Times New Roman font (size 12!), that the characters and settings contained herein are not the product of my imagination and belong to their respected creators. I have received no compensation other than the gratitude of those who enjoy reading it.

Notes for chapter four can now be found on my bio. As usual, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

P.S. *le gasp!* Are we…dare I say it…actually developing a plot!? *rereads chapter* oh…no…not yet…that's next chapter. If there are any obvious inconsistencies that you notice, please let me know, as I'm trying to figure this all out just the same as you are. Thanks very much. *bows low*


	5. The Fallen Bloodline

From a young age, the Great Shinobi War and its effects had been imprinted on his mind. In actuality, war did more than make an impression, it left a scar; one that spread like a disease until he could not remember what it felt like to be whole. By the time he was four Uchiha Itachi's father had thought it was reasonable and right to send his son into war in order to gauge the enemy, and death in general. His plan was to make Itachi numb to the trauma and pain that death brings, starting at an early age. So that when the time came for Itachi to fulfill his duty as an Uchiha and a shinobi of Konoha, he would not balk at the task.

In a way, it worked. Itachi _was_ numb to the idea of death, even his own; but he would never underestimate what the death of someone precious could do to those that loved them.

Watching Namikaze Minato after Uchiha Obito's death was painful, and his eyes took in every second of grief that passed over his face in the seconds between his _Hiraishin no Jutsu. _Grieved at his student's death Namikaze became every Iwa nin's inescapable nightmare, but Itachi could see that nothing he did, no matter the number of slain enemies, or successfully completed missions, or allies saved, nothing alleviated the pain. He saw a similar sorrow in Hatake, who carried the constant burden of Obito's left eye.

And nothing they did changed anything. Obito was still dead.

In another time Itachi theorized that the strength Namikaze gained was derived from the hatred he felt toward the enemy that had killed one of his precious people. Hate drove him to become stronger, and faster, and better. Until he became Hokage and still he did not feel satisfied.

_That _Itachi would later encourage his little brother – his only precious person – to hate him, with the hopes that the same drive might result in the same outcome for Sasuke. In his most "brotherly" moments, Itachi imagined what kind of Hokage Sasuke would make. One as great if not better that the Yondaime.

It was unfortunate that Itachi lacked the biological instinct called love. If he had, he might have known the difference between "grief for what is gone," and "hate for what was stolen."

As it was, love was not a variable Itachi took into consideration when he told his little brother to hate him and grow strong. And without any other guidance but Itachi's and having known brotherly love only to be betrayed, Uchiha Sasuke was left only with the learned behavior called hate.

A twisted mire of negativity at the best of times.

A select few can manage to utilize hatred to their benefit but Sasuke was not one of them. Hatred will motivate and be used, or stagnate and control. Sasuke's childhood was of the second variation and even after finally getting stronger under Orochimaru's direction, Sasuke never learned to controlled his own hate.

When the truth about Itachi was finally revealed, all Sasuke had left was his uncontrolled hate…and power. And when Itachi told him the truth of what had happened and what was _still_ happening Sasuke was left with empty hate and power and no future.

As for Itachi, he died with the knowledge that he had ruined his younger brother and left him nearly as hollow as himself.

Uchiha Itachi died knowing regret for the first time.

And never love.


	6. Connecting the Bloodline

When the ANBU invaded his tent he Harry knew he'd gone too deep. He wasn't exactly going for subtle but very few people were willing to take more than a brief look around when they encountered his healing phenomenon.

Unless, of course, it was healing the consequences of time.

Aging was considered a natural, if unfortunate, inevitability of time. It was the same with everything, even immortals; the only difference was how long it took to kill you. In any case, Harry tried not to get so deep into his ability as he would usually start to get distracted and end up healing something that he wasn't supposed to. It had happened before but usually the Watch was around to stop him when he started drifting. Obviously he would have to get used to watching himself…for now.

Checking his reserves, Harry was relieved to find he'd only managed one case of serious de-aging. Everyone else had just had a few hours worth, hardly worth notice. Still, that one was enough to have drawn attention to him as his tent was now crawling with ANBU.

Green overcame the red and black forcing Harry to blink rapidly as he adjusted his sight to a threadless world. Apparating away he gave little thought to the chaos following his quick snap departure as the Hyuuga ANBU that had been studying the tent in awe suddenly let out a sharp cry of alarm when everything went blindingly bright for less than a second before the world was once again the same black and white that he was used to seeing in his Byakugan world. He only wished he'd had more time to study the green threads that had been winding all around the tent before they disappeared.

Sighing, he released his Byakugan in disappointment, "It appears we have angered this…entity." He reported. "It has left. Nothing of it remains."

The ANBU nodded solemnly, half were regretful but orders came first, the other half were relieved. The Captain was wary, however, and ordered that they continue investigating the tent for another hour before they reported back to the council.

…

Harry spent some time shuffling down a street where the people of Konoha had gathered some tents and stalls to put together a makeshift market street. He took the opportunity to seek out food and get a feel for the civilians of the hidden village. He'd already spent a great deal of time with its shinobi.

It would take some time for him to get used to a society that practiced caution beyond paranoia. In the wizarding world, the mass populace was easily manipulated through ignorance, fear, and greed. Indeed, while the civilians of Konoha displayed these human tendencies, it was the shinobi, Harry could see, that would be his biggest problem.

It had taken him a great deal of effort to surround his tent with a trust-me spell in order for Harry to get anyone healed and he knew that even then, some still refused his offer.

Shaking his head, Harry smiled indulgently. He was not above healing others by force but those that had refused his offer had done so with such pride that he couldn't help but leave them to it. After all, some men preferred to die of their wounds rather than live without their pride. So Harry would not waste the effort.

Just as Harry went to sit at a promising food stand he caught a glimpse of a knot of people standing together, talking in the middle of the street way. Sitting down, he knew them to be among those who had not been healed. They all sported injuries of varying degrees but the  
self-righteous look on their face did nothing to hide their misplaced pride. Not to Harry at least, but apparently Konoha civilians thought otherwise, as no one complained about being forced to run their heavy burdens around the group, even bowing as they did so. Harry took note of the fact that not a one of them bowed in return.

"Must be related to each other." Harry mumbled as he took a seat.

"Pardon?"

Harry looked up to see the owner of the food stall attentively standing before him.

"What can I get you stranger?" he asked brightly.

"Meat…or something." Harry peered closely at all the delicious smelling food displayed before him. "Can I try a little bit of all of it?"

Harry held out his hand, the man held his palm out and gasped when the large disk of gold fell into it.

"Is this enough?"

"Enough? With this much you could eat here for a month or more!"

Harry sighed, resting his elbow on the counter and using his palm to support his head, "I'll do that then, I guess."

The owner gaped in astonishment at Harry's indifferent attitude but pocketed the gold and diligently began serving up for his new best customer.

As he handed the first plate over, a sharp voice interrupted Harry as he moved to take it.

"Let me see his gold."

With a bored look on his face, Harry took the plate still held out for him, ignoring the self-important tone, and began eating. The stall owner however, froze before scrambling in his pockets and fishing the coin out.

"Of course Uchiha-san." He said, taking great pains not to look the man in his eyes.

At the name Uchiha, Harry looked up. It was one of the men that had been cluttered together in the street. From the way he was carrying himself, he appeared to be favoring the left side of his ribcage. Chewing of some kind of steamed vegetable, Harry contemplated healing the man but shrugged his shoulders and watched as the Uchiha closely inspected the galleon in what appeared to be concentration.

_Hmm, with his face scrunched up like that he looks like Sasuke, a little._

"Is there something wrong?"

Instead of answering, the man shoved the coin in Harry's face.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded.

Frowning, Harry shifted back, "From my pocket."

The Uchiha's expression quickly turned to anger.

"Are you purposely evading the question?"

He made to grab at the front of Harry's shirt when a voice stopped him.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The stall owner snapped out a frantic bow and this time kept his eyes to the ground, not allowing them to stray even a little. "Uchiha-sama."

Quickly the Uchiha spun around and bowed. "Fugaku-sama. This man is a stranger to Konoha and–"

"Why is your sharingan active?" The other man interrupted. Older than the first Uchiha, this one carried himself just as confidently as the other but in a way that displayed a deserved superiority that was earned through effort.

_A man that doesn't simply _think_ he is better, he proves it. Still…_

Harry glanced up into the younger man's eyes, was that immature black spotted red a sharingan? A watery red with one black tomoe spun slowly around. It was weak and... pathetic. Harry had to stop himself from saying as much aloud.

"Fugaku-sama, this man was acting suspiciously, he paid for his food in gold and I cannot read the symbols carved into it."

Fugaku seemed to want to roll his eyes but resisted. Instead, he held out his hand and obediently the younger handed over the gold. After studying the metal for a moment his interest seemed to spark, putting it down of the counter he snapped out a series of hand seals.

In less than a second, Harry's sharingan activated, recorded, and dispersed.

Harry shook his head in surprise, it was the first time his eyes had ever done anything like that, activating on its own. Then he realized he could recall exactly what seals had been used, even if he didn't know what they did.

"…nothing suspicious. The gold is real and it matters not what it says–"

"But it could be endorsing anti-Konoha propaganda!"

Fugaku clenched his teeth, "And who would be able to read it?" he questioned sharply, "If it remains an issue, it can be easily solved."

Snatching up the gold, Fugaku ground his thumb firmly on the face and began rubbing away the impressions, then flipped it over to repeat the process on the other side. Once finished, he presented the stall owner with a plain, if slightly misshapen, gold coin.

Turning to the younger Uchiha, Fugaku glared, "Return to Headquarters." He ordered.

Something in his tone must have hinted at a threat because the younger man bowed lowly and a spark of fear crossed his face before he disappeared.

Fugaku finally turned his attention to Harry, "Please forgive Takahiro, he has just recently joined our Military Police and he is a little…over exuberant. With the Kyuubi attack he was forced to forego much of his anticipated initiation, much of it was tradition. Even now, he will most likely be set to the task of rebuilding Konoha rather than defending it."

Harry shrugged, "It's fine, I can understand restlessness." Harry said nothing of Takahiro's arrogance.

"Why are you not with the other merchants? They were planning to move on as soon as the last of them were healed."

"I thought I'd get away for a little, and I like Konoha. Maybe I'll stay." Harry did nothing to correct Fugaku's assumption.

"You have barely seen any of it, and what little you must have is in ruins."

Harry waved the comment away, "It's the people that make the village. I met some people that made me think Konoha was a good place to settle down."

Fugaku stared hard at him before nodding, "In order to be allowed to even apply for citizenship in Konoha you need a sponsor. Your sponsor must have been a citizen of Konoha for at least ten years. After your application is accepted you must live with your sponsor in their home for five years before you are allowed to live on your own. You cannot marry into citizenship and you must provide proof of citizenship from your village of birth."

_Cautious…of course, Konoha is a hidden village. They would want to know where I'm coming from. That will make things a little difficult._

"I could sponsor you."

Slowly green eyes rose to meet black. There was a shine of red behind black when the light hit at a certain angle, evidence of extreme sharingan use.

"There is a secondary method one might take for those in your situation. As a member of a band of merchants it is to be expected that you would have no previous allegiances. I was told you have been traveling for more than thirty years. You must have been born on the road away from a village."

Again Harry did not correct him, asking instead what alternate method he could use to get into Konoha.

"In a case such as yours, only those in a clan could be considered for sponsors. To compensate for the lack of village history you must be accepted by the Head of a clan of Konoha. They must be willing to take you into the clan as a resident only. You would never be allowed formal education as a shinobi but will still be required to take an oath of allegiance to Konohagakure. Should you decide you wish to become a citizen of another village, Konoha will offer you no proof of citizenship and any sensitive information you have gained while here will be sealed away. If it is decided by the Council or your Clan that you know too much, your memory from here on will be sealed. Lastly, you should be made aware that most clans control their own sector of Konoha and most if not all members of that clan live there. If you are to join one, you will most likely be required to get the clan Elder's consent before you can live away from their district; if it is even considered." Fugaku's tone said a great deal about how likely that was.

Harry stared down at his empty plate; he would have to convince the head of some clan that didn't know the first thing about him to accept him into his family in the aftermath of a demon attack. He cast a short glance to Fugaku. _Have any openings in your clan I could fill? _Harry managed to keep from saying it aloud; considering the current situation, it was very likely that there _would_ be openings. Instead, he asked if Konoha provided any forms that he might be able to fill out to apply for a clan sponsor.

"There is no need. As I said, I would be willing to sponsor you?"

Still gazing into his plate, Harry smiled, "And your Clan Leader?"

Fugaku seemed to take a moment to think about it before nodding seriously, "Will not be a problem."

Green eyes met black once again, "Please take care of me." He requested sincerely.

-

The two spoke for an hour more before agreeing to meet early the next day at the same place, then went their separate ways. Feeling rejuvenated, and with something resembling a plan in place, Harry returned to the medic ward, but selected a different tent to get back to healing.

"Shouldn't be too much left."

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That night, Harry made his bed up a tree, and early morning bird calls woke him before the sun rose. He found a small stream to wash in, using magic to catch the water and rain over his head. After drying off he retrieved his trunk from his pants pocket to search out the least conspicuous clothes he could find, a somewhat difficult challenge, as the only color he had to choose from was black.

"But everything goes with black."

But staring at his reflection in the water Harry couldn't help but sigh, "So much for discretion."

Walking out of the forest, Harry tried to ignore the way every bit of him except for his face and hands shifted in and out of sight under the cover of shadows, and wearing all black seemed to make his features that much paler, making the only splash of color not white or black the green of his eyes.

"Or red…"

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"Fugaku-san, I heard rumor you were submitting forms of sponsorship."

Fugaku glanced up from the scroll he was studying to see Danzo standing before his desk, a quick look to the closed door and a narrowing of his eyes did enough to inquire about the lack of a knock, but he did not pursue it. "I did not think that you had the time to concern yourself with the small matter of my family business …Danzo-san."

Danzo smiled sharply and waved the challenge away, "I was merely curious. As for my time…it would seem we _all _have a great deal more of it than we could have hoped for, given the circumstances."

Fugaku deliberately went back to his paperwork but made sure Danzo caught a glimpse of his smirk. "Ah, I had heard of it – this _entity._"

The other man clenched his teeth at the words that remained unsaid. "You commanded that all Uchiha refuse its treatment."

"Of course, I have no control over what the thoughtless masses commit to but I will not allow the Uchiha to be compromised. When Konoha is attacked and all those who were _healed_ fall dead, it will be the Uchiha that will save Konoha and those who were wise enough to suspect this _entity._"

"It sounds almost as if you welcome such an incident."

Black eyes bore into the writing on the scroll, "The Senju are no more, or as good as, soon, Konoha must turn to the Uchiha. It is inevitable."

A dark shadow seemed to pass over Danzo's face and his eyes widened slowly, manically, and he spoke in a slow but forceful tone. "This village was made by Senju. It will burn before an Uchiha will take it." He turned to leave but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "I voted in opposition of your sponsorship request."

Finally Fugaku raised his face wearing a dangerous smile. "Do not trouble yourself with concern for reprisal from me or my clan. I have no hard feelings for your decision, though your honesty is appreciated. However," he tapped the scroll set before him, "the council has already granted me authorization. I was quite pleased with their prompt response to my… request. It is as you said; it seems we _all_ have a little free time."

Turning back, Danzo could see the council seal from where he stood and his eyes burned with fury as he took his leave.

"Chichiue."

Fugaku let his eyes slip to the side entrance of his office.

"Itachi."

"You wished to speak with me." Itachi remained kneeling at the doorway and did not look up. Not that he needed to see his father's face to know that he was pleased with something and yet still unhappy.

"Today you will follow me at a discrete distance. I will be meeting with a man that desires to live in Konoha."

Itachi knew that much, it was hard to avoid all the gossip his clan indulged in. No one seemed to understand that being the heir to the Uchiha and son of their Clan Leader did not mean he was included in his father's planning and so did not know anything more than they did. Still, with the amount of speculation they were throwing out amongst each other, it was likely that even with as much as Itachi _didn't_ know, his information was probably more sound than theirs.

_Disgraceful_

"You are sponsoring this man." If Fugaku felt the need to state the obvious, Itachi would respond in kind.

A glare sent his way informed him that his impudence was not overlooked, "When you are questioned on this matter you will say that he was of the merchant clan and decided to stay."

Itachi said nothing as he waited for his father to continue.

"This man is never to be trusted, Itachi. I will assign you to watch his every move; he is a dangerous unknown factor, and not to be underestimated."

"Why take him into the clan?" The question they all asked and the only answer Itachi knew for certain.

Fugaku smiled down at the scroll in satisfaction, "The Kyuubi is no longer within our reach, for the long run, maybe forever, but we will adapt. There are other, untapped, resources that may be used to unsure Konoha's wellbeing. We have only to find and acquire them."

Itachi shut his eyes against the perilous words his father so easily spoke but they echoed deep in his heart.

"Konoha will not be allowed to fall prey to the weakness of the foul minority. The leadership that has tolerated disobedience and discord that allows for _civilians_ to rise up against the shinobi they should bare reverence to. The Uchiha will be the backbone of our village and ensure that our glory and Konoha's prove unshaken and unmerciful."

Sensing the end of Fugaku's tirade Itachi bowed his head and turned on his knees to leave but his father's voice gave him pause.

"Plans will have to be changed but we will acclimate. When the academy is rebuilt and you join the other children you will ensure that before you graduate you will know or bury as many weaknesses as you can for each and _every_ one of them."

_So that not even _they_ are safe from your pollution. Will you pervert even the young, too ignorant to know or even guess at your threat?_ Itachi thought will pale bitterness. _And this unknown, this man, he will be bound to the Uchiha – by his will…or against it. As I am._

Itachi slid the screen shut behind him, and did not pause as he left the Military Police Headquarters, even as his father's voice followed after him.

"The Uchiha will prevail."

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So! At last we reach the end of chapter five! It did take me some time…too long I admit but I beg for no forgiveness. It was for a good cause. This chapter was written many _many_ times and with each new time it seemed to get worse. To the point that I lost the seriousness of the piece and almost made a mockery of all that I had previously written. I was very close to posting that mockery when true inspiration struck. You might have noticed. Now with plot (YES! It's plot! We can say it now!) in hand, I go forth to the next chapter, which has a very good start so far so I feel confidant that it shall not take me as long to get it out as this chapter did. (I'd finish with a "But don't quote me on that." Except that I've written and posted it so…it's kind of hard not to just point it out and say, "But you PROMISED!")

You know what I find strange? I haven't mentioned anything about Itachi and yet so many people were waiting for him. And if I had said something about him even a little bit to hint that he was going to be a major player in this fic I would understand but…it's…bizarre. *whispers, eyes narrowed* How did you know? Who have you been speaking with? Best to tell me now, I'll find out eventually.

I do not consider Interludes real chapters so I didn't want to release "The Fallen Bloodline" by itself, so it had to wait for chapter 5, even though I had it ready weeks before. I was kind of sketchy on the ages of all the parties involved but after a little research I decided I was close enough for it not to matter. Also, I do not claim to know canon Itachi's motivation or the way he thinks as I have seen _very_ little of him canon wise. Just go with it…please.

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Please disregard any notions you may have that any awesome elements that you see herein are originally my creations. If it is awesome, I didn't do it, someone else did. Unless you're talking about the plot, and then, yes I admit it, I did do that…I apologize most profusely and beg for forgiveness in a size 12 font. You may now judge this chapter, Disclaimed.

Many thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

P.S. I gave up on the whole Author's Note in my bio, I wanted to keep my chapters clean but in the end it became too burdensome to have you read the fic here then go there to read a note. I apologize for the unprofessional appearance.


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